Red Love
by Un-usuality
Summary: He never had a family and she had lost hers long ago. A silly encounter springs up a seemingly impossible relationship which would have a far greater impact on both of their lives revealing unknown feelings and long forgotten emotions. NaruKure
1. Chapter 1: The Encounter

**Red Love**

By Un-usuality

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: Uzumaki Naruto had finally found his special woman. But are his feelings respected by the said woman? Will they find each other or will Naruto end up being used again?

"This is speech."

'This is thought.'

_This is flashback._

A/N: Alright, I am writing another story. This is the prologue; the story really gets rolling from Chapter 2. So, on with the show.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue – The Encounter**

* * *

It was a peaceful day in Konoha and for Uzumaki Naruto it was a well deserved off day. A jounin at the age on nineteen and quite successful at that, this kind of day was very rare for him. For once, Naruto decided not to train himself to exhaustion and pursue his other hobby: thinking. Over the years, many things had changed about him, one of them being his outlook about his own life. And as a result, he often spent significant amount of time thinking about his life, its pros and cons and other various aspects of it.

So, it was a warm afternoon when one Uzumaki Naruto found himself sitting at his favorite thinking place. Situated beside the great lake and waterfall of Konoha, the place offered beautiful scenery that Naruto liked very much. Staring at the vastness of the lake with the waterfall in the background, he felt relaxed from all the stress that he had to deal with everyday, be that the hectic missions or be that the glares and hatred of the village folks and some of his fellow shinobi. The wind blew continued to blow gently, producing small ripples on the surface of the lake as the sound of the waterfall continued to soothe his mind as he sat on the shore. Even if he just arrived here a minute ago, he mind was already beginning to calm down.

All was well and good until he sensed another presence. It seemed to be coming from the lake. The water surface broke and the scene that unfolded before his eyes took his breath away.

Out of the water emerged a feminine figure, water covering her just above the middle of her breasts. Excess water cascaded down from her porcelain skin as she flipped her midnight black hair. Her eyes closed, her head slightly tilted to her left, she let the excess water drip down her body and hair, unmoving from her position. Along with the setting sun and the background, she seemed like a flawless sculpture created by the Goddess of beauty herself. As she smoothed her black hair, her eyes opened and she looked at him.

Uzumaki Naruto's sea blue eyes were locked with the mesmerizing red eyes of Yuuhi Kurenai.

Kurenai's first instinct upon seeing Naruto was the urge to submerge herself back into the water. But the expression of utter awe that decorated his face made her change her decision. Generally, she did not play games with younger people but she found this opportunity too good to pass. You see, Kurenai was a very self conscious person; self conscious in the sense that she knew _exactly_ what kind of effect she was having on the young man. That was an everyday occurrence to her. Being a genjutsu mistress, she was pretty good in reading and recognizing hidden emotions as the effectiveness of her genjutsu would depend on that. She used that knowledge very well even outside her missions and whatever attention she got, she absolutely _loved_ it. If her choice of dress (or wrappings for that matter) to wear in public was not good enough indication of that, one could always ask her best friend: Mitarashi Anko.

But there was a basic difference: where Anko was actually feared among many males, Kurenai on the other hand was worshiped. Admittedly, she loved that too. One would suspect that this kind of attitude earned her the name of the 'ice princess'; again in the sense that she could _freeze-up_ any hot blooded male, and some females as well, at her mere whim. And in this occasion, despite the obvious age difference, she noted with much pleasure that Uzumaki Naruto, debatably _the_ most powerful jounin of Konoha, was no exception.

Simply put, Naruto was thunderstruck. The indomitable man, the jailor of the great fox demon Kyuubi, a person who could strike a deal with the demon without feeling a hint of fear now sat staring at the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, with his eyes dazed and mouth open. To him, everything was perfect about her, be that her gleaming skin, be that her soaked hair, be that her posture or be that her blood red eyes. He just could not take his eyes away from her, nor could he think straight.

As his eyes were transfixed upon her, Kurenai slowly made her way toward the shore where she put her clothes earlier.

"Uzumaki Naruto-san," her silky voice floated into Naruto's ears. "Can you please hand me my towel?"

Now, one could mistake that as a mere request. But to Naruto, it seemed like a thundering command and he was in no position to disobey her. As Naruto handed her the towel, his thought process was still trying to reorganize itself and failing miserably. Kurenai held the towel in front of her. She slowly rose from the water letting the towel gradually cover her body. She stood in front of him, water still dripping down form her bare, slender but strong legs. With one hand holding the white towel in place she proceeded to smooth her hair with the other as Naruto still sat on the ground staring at her. She seemed to be really oblivious about him; all her attention was directed to her hair.

"Can you please hand me my clothes, Uzumaki-san?" another off handed _request _with that _incredibly_ smooth and sexy voice.

Naruto again held her clothes to her, still dazed. But, instead of taking them from him, Kurenai continued to smooth her hair, while Naruto continued to hold her clothes. Kurenai was enjoying herself. Seeing Naruto just sitting there, holding her clothes reminded her of the power she had over him. To a casual observer the scene would look like the Goddess was standing there in front of her worshiper while the peasant was presenting his gifts and offerings to his goddess.

After a considerable amount of time, Naruto was still showing no signs of movement. Kurenai let out a small sigh and a small smile graced her lips.

'Teenagers are _so_ easy to manipulate.'

She took the clothes and headed towards a secluded area without a second glace towards Naruto. He sat there with his eyes following her every movement as she disappeared into somewhere in the foliage. She did not look back and went on her own way.

Naruto would sit there long after she was gone.

A/N: Well, that was the first chapter. There are some things I want to mention:

(-) The chapter length: This chapter was about 1000 words long. But this is just the prologue. The average length for the future chapters will be larger and there will be 20 or so chapters.

(-) OOCness: I don't care. I will try to keep Naruto in character in terms of his standing in the village but his mentality will change. As for Kurenai, you already noticed how I started off about her being a bit… _outgoing_.

That's it folks. Leave a review or two. I am _not_ one of those authors who actually _demand_ a particular number of reviews before updating, but like anyone else out there, I really like reviews. I will be grateful to hear your comments, criticism and anything you want to say.

Until next time.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bad Day

**Red Love **

By Un-usuality

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: He never had a family and she had lost hers long ago. A silly encounter springs up a seemingly impossible relationship which would have a far greater impact on both of their lives revealing unknown feelings and long forgotten emotions. NaruKure

"This is speech."

'This is thought.'

_This is flashback or dreams._

* * *

**Chapter 2: A bad day.**

* * *

A figure tossed and turned in the bed. A sleep plagued with a nightmare.

_Burning. Everything was burning around her. She could hear distant screams of people desperate for help. And she could hear that deafening roar. As she ran towards the origin, she could not help but feel a bit nauseous. A red hue covered the sky. The moon seemed out of place that night. Another burst of red chakra erupted from the distance. She sped up and ran towards that direction. Countless bodies littered the streets. But she paid little heed for she had to find her mother. She was running and running_.

A strained noise came out of her throat; beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

_"No! Let me go! My mother is there! Let me go!" _

_Her desperate pleas fell into deaf ears as two shinobi tried to carry her out of the battle field. She could clearly see her mother, fighting valiantly against the gigantic form of the Kyuubi no kitsune. It was roaring, decimating anything and everything in its path; building and shinobi alike. She started to struggle again but stopped shortly as her mother screamed. With an expression of abject horror she witnessed the events. Kyuubi had just shredded her mother in pieces. She sat there, helpless._

She gripped the bed sheet with both of her hands. Her face showed an expression of sheer pain as she thrashed in her bed.

_Kyuubi's red eyes looked at her. It seemed that the beast is finally loosing. It was closing on her but she could not move. Its face was morphing into something; a human face probably. Shinobi and villagers swarmed around it with weapons, attacking it with no mercy. Its form changed; two clawed legs, two tiny clawed hands. It was making its way toward her. Suddenly it seemed so vulnerable and lonely as the people continued their assault. She could see its face now. With a roar it extended one clawed hand towards her…_

Kurenai woke with a start. She was breathing heavily; sweat covered her whole body soaking her night dress. She put her head in her hands and just sat there for some moments as she tried to calm down. Her body was trembling slightly as she continued to take deep breaths. Even after nineteen years, it still haunted her memories. The sight of her mother being killed before her very eyes was not something one would want to see again and again. Yet, she had that dream each and every day.

A good dreamless sleep was a very rare thing in Yuuhi Kurenai's life.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto looked at his watch: ten to five in the morning; so much for a good night's sleep. He sighed. He just got back from a mission that lasted for three whole days and was readily assigned to another one which would start in six hours. Not that he did not like going to missions but he deserved some rest, damn it! Naruto sat up on his bed with all these thoughts going on inside his mind. But, those were not his _only_ thoughts. For the past few days, one other topic was trying to surface in his mind but he quite stubbornly refused to think about it: the topic, or rather the image of Yuuhi Kurenai as the mermaid of the lake.

Jounin or not, Naruto still had hormones, alright.

He just could not forget that image; could not erase that from his mind. But, the issue that bothered him most was that he completely froze up that day; not for a second, not for a minute but for _several_ minutes. As a jounin, that was a sign of downright incompetence. Moreover, as the inventor of the (in)famous 'Sexy no Jutsu', freezing up at the sight of a semi-nude female was not acceptable, at all. But somehow, Kurenai had done it and Naruto was at a loss as to what to do. But the main questions still remained: why did she do it? He was not going to delude himself thinking that she was interested in him. He was not twelve anymore.

He sighed again. He still had more that enough time to prepare for his mission. He could easily do some training, eat breakfast and take a walk before departing to the mission destination. So he decided to follow the routine.

* * *

Kurenai slid off her night dress and eased her body down in the bathtub which was partially filled with water. As she lay there, she pondered over the dream, again. It was a regular occurrence to her. She started to have this dream shortly after the Kyuubi attack. It always started with her running. At first, it ended at her mother's death when she would wake up screaming. But over the years she had changed. She had become more composed and mentally strong. Nowadays, she did not scream. But the dream sequence changed also. That last part, the part where the Kyuubi morphed into something close to human and came running towards her was added into that dream. At first she could not clearly see the face the Kyuubi changed into. But over the time, not only she could see it but she could recognize it also.

After all, not many people had whiskers in their faces.

She vaguely remembered the time when she first saw Uzumaki Naruto.

_She already knew about his condition but she was not sure if he contained the Kyuubi or he was the Kyuubi himself. He was five, maybe six, at that time when he bumped into her while running away from four villagers. She did not forget the look that he was giving her; the look of fear with a slight hint of hope. His whiskers made him look like a cornered fox. When the four villagers came up to them she had just stared them down and they backed off. She could still sense them hiding in a corner, probably waiting for her departure. Looking down, she saw him again looking at her with uncertainty. At that moment, she had a multitude of emotions going through her. On one hand, there was pity; he was a child after all, a five year old helpless child. On the other hand, there was the memory of her mother being killed in front of her eyes._

_And there was the ever so tempting urge to just end his life, then and there._

_All she would need was a kunai and flick of her wrist. But she gave him a benefit of doubt and walked away from him, not even bothering to hear his almost silent 'thank you'. But his joy was short lived as the villagers returned. From the next alley, she could hear his pleas and screams. But she had continued her walk. She had spared his life, after all. _

Kurenai let out a heavy breath when she remembered that memory. Probably it was at that point that she started to have that last part of her dream. Was it her subconscious guilt of not helping him? Looking at it now, she felt a bit ashamed. She still remembered her mother's helpless screams. She heard his screams that day.

She could not differentiate between the two.

Her musings were cut short as her alarm clock went on. She remembered that she had a meeting with her team at a café so that they would have their breakfast also. She finished her bath and got ready to start the day.

* * *

"Hey Naruto! I didn't know that you were an early riser!"

Naruto was returning from the training ground and was about to go on a 'food search'. It was till early in the morning and Konoha's people were beginning to start their daily activities. It was then he heard Kiba's voice. As usual, Hinata was with him and _as usual_, she was blushing, slightly. Not that Kiba noticed.

"Good morning, Kiba, Hinata… and Akamaru." Naruto greeted. "Where are you off to?"

"We are going to Hiroshi's café, the one closest to Hokage tower?" Kiba answered.

"You want to join us?" This time Hinata joined the conversation. She had changed over the years. Provided that she _still_ blushed around Naruto but her confidence level was quite high and Kiba had a lot to do with that. "We are meeting with Shino and Kurenai-sensei."

Now, Naruto was going to politely decline and go on his merry way but the mention of Kurenai's name got him interested, and the fact that Kiba was glaring at him and shaking his head no. Naruto grinned.

"I would love to, Hinata. But I don't think Kiba would appreciate that." Naruto answered, as subtle as a war-hammer.

Kiba was ready with a return but Hinata spoke again.

"Kiba-kun. Stop glaring at Naruto-kun." Hinata did not even turn around. "And it is rude to make inappropriate gestures with your finger when a lady is with you."

'Damn Byakugan.' was the thought that was going through Kiba's mind.

Hinata turned to Kiba. "Do you _really_ mind Kiba-kun?"

Kiba sighed and muttered a 'no'. Now it was Naruto's turn to show Kiba off, until…

"Naruto-kun, whatever I said to Kiba-kun applies to you too."

'Damn Byakugan.'

* * *

Kurenai entered the café and made her way towards their regular table to find Shino already waiting. She greeted him and took her sit. Kiba and Hinata were still not there. It was actually Hinata's idea to hold a meeting like this on a regular basis. This was not a strictly official meeting. They just chatted here about anything and everything. Being a clan heiress, Hinata did not have that much free time. So this was a welcome change in her life. And in a sense, Kurenai also appreciated this.

After some waiting, she finally sensed her two teammates' presence along with another one. As she looked towards the entrance she recognized the extra presence. A couple of seconds later, Kiba, Hinata and Naruto entered the café. Kurenai was a bit surprised to see him but just brushed it off quickly. After all, Hinata's admiration of Naruto was a common knowledge. As all of them took their seats, Naruto greeted Shino and Kurenai, who greeted him back.

As Hinata explained how they met Naruto, Kurenai studied him. She remembered their recent encounter at the lakeside. Frankly, that incident had slipped her mind. Now looking at him, she started to recall that and tried very hard not to laugh as she recalled his reactions that day. And it seemed that Naruto also was remembering the incident, if the slight redness on his face was any indication. He was looking at his hand on the table top with a far away look without any care about his surroundings. He did not even flinch when Kiba started to call his name. Kurenai found this really amusing, and too good to pass. And her teasing nature kicked in. She slowly extended her index finger and touched his wrist drawing his attention. In a deliberately slow motion, she dragged her finger from his wrist along the backside of his hand all the way to his index finger just touching the tip.

"What's on your mind, Naruto-san?"

With more amusement and satisfaction, she watched the redness on his face grow in its intensity as he looked in her eyes. But this time he recovered quickly. With a small smile, he withdrew his hand from her and shook his head.

"Yeah Naruto, what are you thinking man?" Kiba was curious.

Naruto smiled again before speaking.

"The other day, I was sitting at the lakeside. I saw a beautiful mermaid in that lake." He took a sidelong glace at Kurenai.

The table fell silent. Kurenai was a bit taken aback at his choice of words. Kiba and Hinata were looking at Naruto strangely. Shino just stared. Naruto grinned inwardly. Turnabout is a fare play.

"You saw a mermaid?" Hinata tried to confirm.

"Did she have wings?" Kiba asked.

"Mermaids do not have wings Kiba." Shino corrected.

"How do you know? You did not see one." Kiba countered and pointed at Naruto. "He did." Then he patted on his back. "Man you are so lucky! But you did not have to say it like that, you know. You could have plainly told us that you were peeking at some hot nude babe."

Laughter erupted from the table. It soon died down as the manager of the café walked towards them and addressed Kurenai.

"Ma'am, would you like to go to another table?" At the surprised look of Kurenai, he clarified, "where you don't have to face any…" he took a not so subtle glace at Naruto before finishing, "unwanted disturbance."

Kurenai watched as Naruto's face darkened immediately but he kept a straight face.

"No, we are quite OK." She answered calmly.

"Are you sure Ma'am?" Another glance, "You don't have to worry about anything."

Kiba tried to speak but Kurenai cut him off. "We are fine. Don't worry."

"As you wish," The manager turned to Naruto. "Come on. I will give you your table."

Naruto just stared. This guy was getting on his nerves but he kept his calm. But this time Kurenai replied again.

"He is with us. And as I said _multiple times before_" Kurenai emphasized, "We are _fine_."

The manager took one last look at Naruto, before turning to Kurenai. He bowed and finally left. Kurenai turned towards Naruto who had an expressionless face the whole time. Kiba was expressing his surprise, to which Naruto responded with some witty remarks but she could she that his mood had darkened quite a bit. Fortunately, a waitress came to take their orders. She started from Kurenai and ended at Kiba.

"You forgot to take Naruto's order." Kiba reminded her as she started to head back. She had totally ignored Naruto's presence.

"Is that so? What will you have, _sir_?"

Naruto just closed his eyes and remained silent for couple of seconds. Kurenai was actually giving him silent complements about keeping his calm even at this blatant display of disrespect.

"I am good. Don't worry about it." Finally Naruto spoke before he stood up. "Well, it fells good to talk to you guys. I have a mission which will start shortly. So I have to get going. See you later."

With that Naruto went out. Kurenai could see the faint smile of victory the waitress gave. She could see the manager congratulating her. She could see the doorkeeper sending Naruto an open glare. She knew that he was not treated well but had no idea how it worked. If this was the situation when he was with other people, then she did not want to think about the time when he was alone. And finally, she also felt disgusted with herself; because years ago, she was the same as these people. Her brows furrowed as she remembered the dream she had just hours ago.

_Suddenly it seemed so vulnerable, lonely as the people continued their assault. She could see its face now. With a roar it extended one clawed hand towards her…_

Looking at the situation Kurenai could not help but ask: that hand he extended towards her; was that a sign of hostility?

Or was that a desperate plea to her to take that hand and pull him out of the hell that he was in.

* * *

Naruto was in a bad mood when he exited the café. It was these kinds of days he hated most. It started OK. He woke up, trained a bit and met his friends. Everything was going alright; friendly banters, light talking and all. Just when he was starting to think that the day was getting better, it all went down. He hated those superficial people and their inability to see past Kyuubi. All he wanted was to chat and have a good breakfast with his friends before going to his mission. Was that too much to ask? He was risking his life for the village each and every day! And they pay him back like this. The rage that was building inside him kept increasing and the glares that the villagers were sending did nothing to help.

It was moments like this that he wanted to show them how Kyuubi really looked like.

Maybe he needed to get out of the village for a bit. Thinking about his options, he decided to start his mission early of the scheduled time. Nobody would miss his anyway. When he reached the village gates, he did not expect to see anyone. But fate was not with him as another team was departing; a team led by his teammate: Haruno Sakura.

Sakura had not changed that much over the years. She had grown into an all-rounder kunoichi and a great medic. They still worked together from time to time but for serious missions only. Sakura also spotted Naruto and greeted cheerily. Naruto inwardly sighed. It was not like he did not like her of anything, but statistically, when the day looked grim the presence of Haruno Sakura made it even grimmer. Mind that, she did not do it intentionally nor did she know she was doing it, but somehow it just used to happen.

"Hey, Naruto! What's up?" Sakura greeted him cheerfully.

"The sky?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Sakura frowned. "Naruto…" She warned.

"Alright, jeez. No need to get violent. I have a mission." Naruto informed. "So, how are you? A mission?"

"I am good! Yeah a mission. Border patrol to be exact. You?"

"Scroll delivery. It will be easy though." Naruto acted his part. "Nothing is tough for the future Hokage!"

"Baka Naruto." Sakura said fondly in a sweet voice while smiling at his antics. "Well, I got to go. See you later."

"Take care, Sakura-chan."

"I will, I will!" And with that she was gone with her team.

Naruto looked at her retreating back and continued to look even after she was gone. Then he sighed. It was always like this. People always took him for granted. After Sakura came to know about his _condition_, it seemed that she started to take him for granted too. No, she did not hate him, did not fear him. She was there as a friend and as a teammate. But, she had enough medical knowledge to observe his uncanny healing ability. So she knew that there were very few things that can actually hurt him. So practically, he was invulnerable to her. But Naruto did not want that. Sure he had healing powers. Sure, he did not need medical attention all that often. But that did not mean that he did not want someone to show care for him. He might be physically invulnerable but he could still _feel_ everything. Like now, he just told her to take care of herself.

How hard was it to say 'you take care too, Naruto'?

These were little things, little things one generally forgot many times. But for someone like Uzumaki Naruto, these little things make huge difference. Because he just wanted to feel like a human, just a normal human for a single day and nothing more. Was it too much to ask?

With that thought and a heavy heart, Naruto exited the village.

* * *

Elsewhere, there was a private gathering going on.

"We are ready to commence the mission. Sir."

"Alright, for one last time," A male voice stated, "You three will confront him and carry out your mission. Remember to avoid battle unless absolutely necessary. Got it?"

"Sir!"

* * *

A/N: Alright, second chapter done. Nothing much happened here but I tried to show Naruto and Kurenai's point of views and standings before going into deeper things. One thing you would probably notice is the rapid mood swings of the story, happy to angst and such. It will be there till the end.

So, tell me what you think about this. Too cheesy? (I had a lot of pizza today) need to improve more? Needs more details? Your opinion/criticism/suggestion is greatly appreciated.

See you next time.


	3. Chapter 3: Shining Stars

**Red Love **

By Un-usuality

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"This is speech."

'This is thought.'

_This is flashback or dreams._

A/N: A late update. I am really sorry. I had a lot of work to do. So don't hurt me (You can't bonk me on the head via internet… Can you?). So without any more delay, I present you the third chapter of 'Red Love'.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Shining Stars**

* * *

It was a not so busy day at the Ichiraku ramen stand. Not many customers were there. A few people that were still eating would be leaving soon. It was like this every year around this time. The Ichiraku family, Ayame and her grandfather were working nonetheless. They would have to clear the stocks anyway. And as usual, Uzumaki Naruto sat at the counter, playing with a pair of chopsticks absently. His mind was, however, not on the ramen but on the current mission that he had completed just yesterday. A simple scroll delivery mission turned into much more.

_"We have a proposition, Uzumaki Naruto."_

That was a stupid proposition. He would never agree to that and he knew that they knew it too. He needed to gather some information on these guys, fast. He needed to know what their motives were and he needed to know what his roll was. But what he needed to know very clearly was how the truthful they were.

_"No? What if we said we had some information about some… Uchiha Sasuke?"_

Naruto clenched his hand, to the point that the chopsticks he was holding were about to break. They knew his weakness and they knew how to place the correct bates. But what…

"Here Naruto-kun!" His musings were cut short as Ayame placed a large bowl before him with a soft thud. "One miso beef with extra toppings. Enjoy. " She smiled softly.

"Thanks a lot, Ayame-nee-chan. Itadakimasu." Naruto broke his chopsticks, _properly_, and started eating.

But still those thoughts kept lingering in his mind. When he came back to the village and reported to Tsunade, he kept many things to himself.

_"Is that everything you have? Or there is something else that I should know?" Tsunade inquired. _

_The soul piercing gaze that she was giving Naruto would unnerve any other man. But Naruto did not flinch. Actually, he was really tensed but tried very hard to conceal his uneasiness and doing so successfully. He always wondered about how Tsunade could detect when he was lying._

_"That is all." He calmly replied._

_"You are dismissed then." Tsunade sighed. She watched him turn around and make his way towards the entrance before she stopped him once again. "If you want to talk about something you can always come to me; you know that Naruto. Don't you?"_

_He nodded and left._

He needed to think more and probably would have to visit Jiraya. He finished his ramen and was about to leave when Ayame again handed him a cup of steaming instant ramen saying that it was on the house.

"We are clearing our stocks, Naruto-kun. Besides we are closed tomorrow." She told him. "Take care, Naruto-kun."

Tomorrow. He almost forgot what tomorrow was. He thanked her and went out in the streets absently sipping the broth from the cup.

* * *

Kurenai was out shopping. It was afternoon and she had just finished her part of 'spending of some money on herself for once' spree so that she had both her hands full, a couple of bags in each of her hands. She was feeling quite content at the moment. Sure the bags were a bit heavy but thinking about contents of those bags made her totally joyful. She had chosen some really good outfits and a few… _'infits'_… as well. But fate had different plans for her as one Uzumaki Naruto bumped into her. Well, not actually bumped but came very close to doing so. They were both shinobi after all. She evaded a little, balanced herself so that she would not fall and her bags would remain intact. Naruto did the same but apparently some liquids, such as ramen broth, are hard to tame and it seemed that the said ramen broth had a tendency to get poured on whatever that was in front of it; in this case: Kurenai. For both Kurenai and Naruto, it was a disaster, but for entirely different reasons.

"Oh no! My dress!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"Ah! Oh Kami-sama! My ramen!" Naruto practically howled.

"WHAT!" Kurenai almost roared dropping her bags. All he could think of was about some stupid ramen? How dare he?

Now Naruto may be a bit dense from time to time, but this time he quickly understood. Nothing, absolutely nothing is more important than a woman's dress when something is spilled onto it; to the woman anyway.

"Oh! I meant 'Kami-sama! Your lovely dress!' Honest." Naruto quickly corrected himself. His weakness was genjutsu after all and infront of him was one genjutsu mistress. He even thought if she could intensify that glare by some jutsu or not. He hastily held out a napkin. "Here Kurenai-san, let me clean that."

But he abruptly stopped noticing Kurenai's eyes which held the expression that said 'touch there and nobody would even_ find _your body parts'.

"Uh… I meant 'Help yourself', Kurenai-san."

Kurenai could only sigh. It was her favorite dress. And now it would be ruined if she did not get home fast enough. She could not even teleport to that distance either. She took the napkin and tried to clean the stain unsuccessfully.

"Kurenai-san, I am really sorry." Naruto's apology was genuine. "I should have been more careful. I am really sorry." He sat down and begun to pick up the scattered item placing them back in the bags.

"That's alright, I understand." Kurenai sighed again, "My dress is ruined anyway." On Naruto's quizzical look she elaborated, "The stain won't go away if I don't clean it quickly and I am pretty far from my home…"

"Well, my home is just next block. I have a washing machine. If you want you can come." Naruto offered picking up the bags ignoring Kurenai's protests. "It's the least I can do."

Kurenai gave in. She saw no harm in that and they started walking to his place. For some time neither of them spoke anything before Kurenai started a conversation again.

"You don't have a mission, today?"

"I had one in the morning. Now I have some free time."

"What do you do in your free time?"

Naruto smirked. "Me? Well, I bump into people, pick their bags up, walk them home and that kinda stuff, you know?"

"I see." Kurenai laughed a little bit. She could play the same game too. "Come to think of it, we_ are_ running into each other a lot, lately. Funny coincidence, no?"

"Nope!" Naruto confidently replied. "It's called destiny." He gave his sagely opinion.

Kurenai shook her head at his antics. The friendly banter continued and soon they found themselves inside Naruto's apartment. The place was quite livable and considering he was a bachelor teenager, it was remarkably clean. While Kurenai changed into one new dress she had just bought, Naruto put the old one into the washing machine.

"You sure have a great test of clothing, Kurenai-san." Naruto complemented.

"Why thank you. But I didn't know you could actually admire a woman's test in clothing." Kurenai returned. "After all, it doesn't have any orange."

"Aww… I'm hurt…"

It took about half an hour to clean her dress. All the time small jokes were exchanged. For Naruto, he was having a good time. He spent his most of the time alone or in Ichiraku, nowadays. So, having some company that was not actually hostile or indifferent to him was a welcome change. But all good time must come to an end. Finally, it was time. Kurenai picked up her bags and left his room. He smiled to himself and went to close the door when suddenly the door flew open and caught him in the nose making him cry out in pain.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were so close to the door." Kurenai apologized again and again. "I left one bag behind and… Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Naruto waved it off still clutching his aching nose. "Destiny, you see?"

Kurenai retrieved her bag and went to the door. Just before she was about to exit, she held out some cotton.

"Here," she offered, "You're bleeding, this should stop it. Too much blood loss is not good."

Naruto stared at the cottons. He could feel Kyuubi's chakra already healing him, mending his bone and closing the wounds. Did not she know it? This is nothing to him; more appropriately, nothing to Kyuubi. Before he could say anything, Kurenai put the cotton into his hand and went out of the door.

"Take care of yourself, Naruto-san."

And the door closed. She was gone before he could even formulate any answer. The day started quite normally but her last words, that single sentence, made this a memorable day of his life. He stared at the cotton again. It was a different feeling.

But damn, he liked it.

* * *

_The next day_

* * *

The next day brought Naruto a whole lot of misery, as it always did, each and every year. It was a little past five P.M. and the citizens of Konoha are already coming out to the street. Today was a big day after all. Naruto sat on his window still looking at the streets below. But Naruto's mind was not in that. His focus was on a piece of cotton lying on his table; a plain and simple piece of cotton that he got yesterday.

_"Take care of yourself, Naruto-san."_

He sighed deeply. He smiled at that memory. A minute after that incident Jiraiya had showed up at his door congratulating him for a good catch and asking him if he used a condom or not. This time Jiraiya got a broken nose and there was no one to give him any cotton. But enough of the memories, Naruto decided. He looked at the calendar to see today's date marked by a red circle. His mood considerably darkened. It was time to get out of his house before the festivities started.

* * *

Night has fallen on Konoha. Stars were shining in abundance with an occasional display of fireworks illuminating the sky. Asuma took a long drag of his cigarette as he walked down the busy streets of Konoha in a lazy pace. It was a busy night in Konoha. People were out in the streets with their families, laughing and enjoying. Children were dressed in various costumes. Vendors were giving away free food to children. He even saw some couples sitting on tree branches. He shook his head. What was so romantic about romance on a tree again? He would never know and considering the fact that his last name was _sarutobi_(1), it was really ironic. These people did not know life's true hardships. Some of them probably didn't even know what they were celebrating. Then again, in a shinobi village people took every excuse to celebrate very seriously. And today they had a valid excuse.

After all, today was October the tenth, the anniversary of Kyuubi's defeat.

Now, if he could find someone to _celebrate_ with… That's when he spotted Kurenai coming out of a shop.

"Yo, Kurenai." Asuma greeted her lazily.

Kurenai turned towards him and greeted back. She was garbed in her regular work attire, nothing special. Her mood seemed gloomy. She did not share the happiness of the villagers that was running around them. It was obvious that she did not enjoy the festival, nor did she want to be a part of it.

"Want to hang out somewhere… private?" He was still hopeful, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Not today, Asuma." Kurenai declined politely. "I am not in that mood."

"Alright then," Asuma did not drag the issue. "See you later."

The reason was simple and Asuma understood it very well. While others chose this day to celebrate Kyuubi's defeat, some people chose this day to mourn. Kurenai was one of them.

Because it was the same day that she lost her family on.

* * *

Iruka was in a hurry. He knew he was late and he was damning his latest mission for that. As he ran to Naruto's apartment, he continued to pray that he would be home. But deep down, he knew that his prayers would be unanswered. He would not be there. It was same each and every year. He managed to catch him on some occasions and treated him ramen and talked to him briefly before Naruto went away. But still Iruka tried his best because he knew that he was one of the very few people who would look out for him on this day.

Upon reaching his apartment, he quickly realized that he was right. Naruto was already out.

And he had no idea where to look.

* * *

A lone figure sat atop the stone head of the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha looking over the vastness of the village and the surrounding forest. There were fireworks going on in the sky, illuminating it from time to time. The whole village below him was celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi. It seemed really ironic to him. He had every right to celebrate today. If he was not there, this village would not have existed today in the first place. But yet he sat there, lonely and abandoned. People used to say that every birthday was special because they only come once and bring something new each time. But for him, it was same each and every year.

Uzumaki Naruto was turning twenty today and as usual loneliness was his only birthday present.

* * *

Kurenai slowly walked aimlessly. This was the one day which she feared. It brought back all the unwanted memories with severe intensity. May be she should have taken Asuma's offer to hang out in private; private as in his bedroom, but then again, she would feel like a trash afterwards. She knew Anko was doing something similar. She cursed inwardly. At least Anko liked to drink herself into oblivion which she did not like. Right now she did not want to go home either. Too many memories were connected to that place.

As she continued her inner musings, Kurenai did not notice that she was on the Hokage monument until she sensed a familiar presence. Looking past the railing that separated the pavement to the stone sculptures, she spotted the owner and she swore inwardly.

It was Uzumaki Naruto, the very _last_ person she wanted to see right now.

Naruto and the Kyuubi were practically synonymous. She was trying to get her mind away from those memories and here she was standing behind the carrier of the very cause of those dreaded memories. Well, not exactly behind anymore as he also sensed her presence and turned to look at her. She thought of turning back and walking away but something stopped her. She remembered that he too was suffering from the hatred. Looking at him sitting here all by himself, she could not help but to feel a little bit of pity.

"Hi, Kurenai-san."

"Hello Naruto-san." She greeted back. "What are you doing here all alone?"

"Just sitting." There was a brief silence before Naruto spoke. "Speaking of which, should not you be celebrating today with your friends or something?" Was there a hint of bitterness in his voice?

"Don't tell me what to do or not to do. I can make that decision myself." For some reason, Kurenai took that offensively.

"Sorry." His voice was low. Naruto raised his hands in a defensive gesture and fell silent.

Kurenai sighed. She really needed to calm down. She disappeared from her spot to reappear again next to Naruto's sitting form. He tensed for a bit but calmed down when she took a seat beside him. The view from their position was a very nice one. Had it not been the situation and the day, they could have enjoyed that immensely.

"I am sorry Naruto-san. I didn't mean to snap like that."

"… It's alright." Naruto waved it off. "At least you didn't attack me right off the bat." After a slight hesitation, Naruto again asked "You _do_ know about my condition, right?" He was pretty surprised to see someone sitting beside him on this day without any hostile intentions. It was very unlikely that she did not know but it was even more unlikely that she knew and still was interacting with him normally, on this day.

"I know." Kurenai briefly answered. "I'm old enough to know."

Naruto nodded and fell silent again. This was a first. As long as he remembered, he was always alone on this day. At first he had tried to socialize, he really did. But after some rather painful and life threatening experiences, he had learned his lesson. He gave a start when Kurenai spoke again.

"Why are you here? They're giving free food down there."

Naruto looked at her incredulously. Was she out of her mind? Kurenai seemed to sense this and immediately understood the stupidity of her question. Still one question lingered in her mind.

"You spend this day sitting here every year?" She inquired. Upon seeing him nod in affirmative she continued. "What about you teammates? Don't they invite you or come looking for you?"

Naruto shook his head and laughed slightly. Teammates. They probably did not even know where he was. Sakura had a family. She did not have time to look for him. Kakashi was probably reading his book or something. And he did not want to think about Sasuke. He would not be celebrating even if he was in the village.

"They never did. They never do." Naruto shook his head. "And as far as I can understand, they never will."

Kurenai was a bit surprised. But when she thought about what he said, it made sense. So she did not push it.

"You know what the funny thing is?" Naruto continued. "I'm sitting right on top the head of the very man who put me in this situation. You see them celebrating Kyuubi's defeat. I see them laughing at my miserable life!" At his point he growled. "What if I was not born on this day? They're celebrating the demon's defeat and yet they call me a demon." Naruto clenched his fists and spoke in a growling voice.

"Sometimes I wonder if I really should act as one; just to wipe that smirk off their faces."

Kurenai gave a start at his last sentence. She was a jounin but imagining another Kyuubi running around was too much, even for her. Naruto seemed to realize what he had said just now and immediately felt ashamed. He could see that Kurenai had a bit of fear in her eyes.

"Sorry Kurenai-san. I just got a bit… carried away." Naruto apologized, his voice normal now.

"That's alright. I can understand." She was one of those people after all. She wondered if he still remembered that incident all those years ago. "It's just that, thinking of another Kyuubi is…" She did not finish the sentence as she looked down.

"You lost someone in that attack?" Naruto asked making Kurenai nod absently.

"My mother." She was remembering her losses again.

"I am sorry." Naruto did not know what to say. Sure he was not responsible for any death that happened that day but still he felt her grief. The fact that he hated most was that he could do nothing to help her or any one else who lost their families. "I understand how you feel."

"No you don't." Kurenai answered a harshly.

Naruto's head snapped at her direction. And the he realized that she was right. How could he possible feel what she was feeling?

"You are right." He breathed out. "I never had a family to begin with."

Kurenai looked at him, berating herself for loosing her calm yet again. She knew he could not know how she felt and she understood that he could do nothing for her even if he tried. But on the other hand, she knew exactly how he felt.

"You're lucky in that matter." Kurenai gave her opinion. She saw Naruto getting enraged.

"What are you…" Naruto tried to counter. He had yearned for a family his whole life. How dare she suggest that he is lucky for not having one? But before he could finish, she cut him off.

"The pain of being alone is intense, I know that. But the pain of having someone and _then_ loosing them is much more severe." Kurenai was looking into his eyes. "You _are_ lucky that you did not have to experience that."

Naruto fell silent at that, all his rage suddenly gone. He knew that her words held truth. But she was not completely right.

"Didn't your parents love you?" Naruto questioned. Seeing Kurenai getting enraged he continued before she could say anything. "They did, right? Didn't they adore you? Didn't you go on picnics on Sundays? Didn't they hold you when you cried? Did not they kiss on the cuts and scratches you got while playing?" He continued with his questions, one after another. Kurenai stared at him, confused.

"At least you have some memories; memories that you will cherish for the rest of you life. Don't loose them, Kurenai-san" Naruto said quietly. "I don't have even that."

Kurenai stared at him impassively before silently standing up. As she walked away, Naruto could sense her going away but did not say anything. What could he say? He was pretty fortunate that she even spent some time with him in the first place. He could not ask for more.

* * *

It had been a half an hour that Kurenai left Naruto alone. He was started to doze off a bit when he felt the familiar presence of Kurenai.

'Don't tell me she finally came back for her revenge.'

It was unlikely but not impossible. A few drinks can do that and Naruto had various first hand experience. He tensed a bit as Kurenai appeared next to him but instead of kunai or shuriken or whatever weapons she liked to use, she was holding two packages. She set them down and opened the larger one. Much to Naruto's surprise he brought out a sealed bowl of ramen and gave it to him, taking another one for her as well. There were some appetizers too.

Naruto sat there with a bewildered expression on his face. He did not know what the hell was going on. He was pretty sure she was upset and slightly pissed off. But now she suddenly came up with some food. Either he got extremely lucky or… Naruto peeled off the cover from the bowl and closely examined the contents.

"No, Naruto-san, I did not poison the ramen or any other food items for that matter."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Well, one should never put his guard down. But he was still not sure what was going on. So he voiced the question.

"Uh, Kurenai-san, what's going on?" Talk about direct approach.

"Well, I have nothing to do. You have nothing to do. I don't want to go home right now and the same goes for you. So I thought we could hang out for a bit." Kurenai explained. "And besides," Kurenai pulled out a smaller package from somewhere and held that to him.

"Happy birthday, Naruto-san."

Naruto looked at Kurenai with a shocked expression. There were very few people who actually knew his birthday, forget about giving him a present. On a second thought, probably all the older village people knew. But to think one of the older people who actually experienced Kyuubi first hand giving him something willingly was beyond his comprehension. Kurenai seemed to understand his emotions and she broke him out of his reverie.

"I couldn't find anything really fancy in this short time so sorry about that. Tell me if you like it or not."

"Thank you." Naruto whispered as he accepted the present but did not open it. "I will tell you when I open it."

Kurenai smiled and then looked at the sky. "I remember," She started in a soft tone. "When I was little, I absolutely loved my birthday presents. Mom and dad both used to give me presents and it seemed that I waited for them the whole year. I still have some of them." She looked at Naruto to see him looking down at the ground.

"Thank you, Naruto-san."

Naruto looked up, confusion written on his face.

"Your words earlier: 'you have some memories which you will cherish for the rest of you life.' I did not forget them but I refused to remember them. Thank you for reminding me how precious they are." Kurenai sounded genuine. "I'm sure someday you'll find your share of memories too."

"I already found one." Naruto answered smiling.

"Then let's celebrate!" Kurenai pulled out a sake bottle from somewhere that Naruto would never know.

Naruto did not drink but what the hell? He was feeling happy. So they ate their food and drank their share of sake. Under the starry night two people sat trying to find their places in this world. As Naruto sat there, he could feel Kurenai slightly leaning onto him. Her cheeks were showing slight traces of pink signifying that the alcohol was finally taking some effect. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto…" She started a bit drowsily, "Are you still feeling lonely?"

"…No." Naruto hesitated at first but then slowly draped his hand around her, supporting her body. "I am not alone."

With a smile on his face he stared at the sky above.

Yeah, the stars were shining a little brighter today.

* * *

In the shadows cast by the trees, Asuma leaned onto a tree trunk as he continued to look at them with an unreadable expression on his face. He took a long drag of his cigarette before flicking it off. Taking a last look at the forms of Kurenai and Naruto, he vanished from the spot.

The fallen cigarette kept burning.

* * *

(1) 'Saru' means monkey.

A/N: Hmm… Third chapter is done. Many, many thanks to all the people who reviewed and gave me suggestions. I really appreciate your support for this story and your effort of leaving comments and suggestions. This chapter contains some semi serious Naruto-Kurenai interaction and raises some questions as well, such as what happened in his mission. And now that Asuma is in the picture…

There's more to come. Trust me, this story in under Romance/Angst. Romance will come and so will angst. And nervous breakdowns? Wait and see, --insert evil laughter of your favorite villain here--. Please let me know what you think with suggestions/comment/criticisms, or else --insert that laughter from before, again--.


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